Member Spotlight

Future Leaders Spotlight: 2006 Recipient

Marie Hoeger Bement, PhD MPT, Marquette University

How/why did you enter the field of pain?

As a new graduate from a physical therapy program in 1997, I quickly became frustrated by the lack of knowledge regarding how to best manage chronic pain. This quickly became the impetus for returning to graduate school to receive a PhD in physical rehabilitation science, studying central pain mechanisms in a chronic muscle pain model.

How has being a Future Leaders recipient transformed your career?

Being a recipient of a Future Leaders grant was transformative for my research career. This was my first funded project to study nonpharmacological pain management (e.g., exercise) in humans. This grant was the foundation for future funding that I received through the Arthritis Foundation and National Institutes of Health. I continue to focus on the pain response following exercise in healthy and patient populations while looking at potential factors, including physical activity levels, body composition, and age.

What is your favorite part of your work, and why?

As both a researcher and clinician, my favorite part of work is that I am conducting research to provide evidence and recommendations to clinicians to help people that suffer from chronic pain.